Etape Hibernia - Ireland

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Comments

  • mickmc9
    mickmc9 Posts: 17
    Just got a mail back from the organisers. No change to the route..
  • Westerberg
    Westerberg Posts: 652
    Shame, this could be a really great event and chance for a holiday in one but frankly, the route looks so dull and unchallenging I shan't be bothering.
  • capilinconnemara
    capilinconnemara Posts: 117
    Here is a link to the route as on the Clare County Council web.Scroll down the page to see map Afraid I entered for this 2 early and now feel a bit ripped off. Not even letting us near the Cliffs of Moher from the Black Head side which as atleast a bit of a climb

    http://www.clarecoco.ie/recreatio...y-ride-etap-hibernia-map-5601.pdf

    Did my best to mapmyride it http://www.mapmyride.com/route/detail/17705300/ though left out the ennis town bits
    Go neiri on bothar leat.
  • Bobslay
    Bobslay Posts: 1
    Interested to hear what people thought of the ride yesterday. As a competitor in the Caledonia event for the past three years I thought the Ireland one would be easier. I know people had talked about the SW coastal winds but without any major climbs I was still hoping for a quick time.

    In the end I took 30mins longer than my best caledonia time, looking at the top finish times this looks reasonably consistent.
    Any other thoughts?

    Cheers
  • Gustibus
    Gustibus Posts: 12
    I thought it was a really good event. Well organised with some beautiful countryside - when I had time to see it :D

    Roads were generally quite heavy and although the profile showed 760m of climbs I think they only counted the bigger climbs. My GPS (which is pretty accurate) registered over 1500m, it being Ireland if you're not going up you're coming down, it was fairly lumpy. Weather was good in general, going through the Burren with the sun coming up was great although the rain overnight had left the decent a bit slippy - saw one guy on the deck holding his elbow so hope he was ok.

    I was initially a bit disappointed with my time (5:11) but when I looked it up on the results site that was about 1/3 the way down so was happy enough. As you say the average speeds weren't that high so I think the course was a bit tougher than it looked on paper.

    The local population also seemed very supportive of the event, with lots of people on the course and waiting at the finish to cheer us on.
  • stefrees
    stefrees Posts: 137
    This was my first closed road event and I must say I loved it! Great atmosphere, stunning route and manageable for a novice like me. Made me realize what a stunning part of Ireland it is, and given me a thirst to train for tougher sportives
  • capilinconnemara
    capilinconnemara Posts: 117
    Cannot fault the organisation on the day and the People of Clare were brillant with people out at their gates from 7am.
    The road surface is what we get over here.
    But as the most expensive sportive in the country(rather than charity organised ride) the closed roads really dont make it a stand out.
    By the standard expected here now the stops were awful.
    The An Post Series events have the gels etc plus all you can eat at 2 stops and 2 other water stops and a t-shirt and Cert for 40 so it will be interesting to see will it grow as they have.

    The buzz at the end was good and overall there was a more competitive edge during the day compared to many events here though at only 80 miles its short :lol:
    Go neiri on bothar leat.
  • dexradio
    dexradio Posts: 54
    Having done the Etape Caledonia this year, I decided to do the Etape Hibernia as well. I happened to be be over on holiday visiting family so it was easy to organise one night in a B&B.

    The organisation and the local atmosphere was faultless, a great job at the start and well marshalled around the course. I did meet one car who decided not to bother paying heed to the Road Closures, although I suspect she did not make it too far before being stopped and put right. The Motor Cycle marshalls, as always, were superb, one of them saw me taking my foot out of the pedals for a stretch, and came over to check I was ok. And they were helping those at the side of the road with punctures etc.

    The road surface was poor, not full of holes or anything like that, but more like worn out tarmac which didn't make riding a road bike comfortable. I reckon 65 out of the 82 miles were rough in that way, which was the only downside for me.

    As someone mentioned above with the Caledonia, I completed it in 4 hours 55 mins, and on that basis looking at the Hibernia with less climbing in it, I forecast a time of 4 hours 30 mins for the Hibernia. I actually did it in 4 hours 59 mins (355th overall) and felt like I had really worked hard to finish. In fact I reckon it was harder than the Caledonia. The headwinds along the coast road were very tough for me. I certainly didn't feel like I was climbing as well as I usually might have done, and I think the course wears you out with the undulating nature of it. There might not be as much climbing as the Caledonia but I found the Hibernia a lot harder.

    However, a great event, well worth making the effort to do, and you'll have a great weekend in Ennis I've no doubt. i didn't meet a single unfriendly person all weekend, and the support on the course was fantastic. Despite my feeling the effort on the course, I too did much better than I expected, so pleased with my result. Incidentally, my Garmin with Elevation Corrections enabled showed Elevation Gain of 1006m link to my Garmin Connect Log [/url]http://connect.garmin.com/activity/45631559[url][/url]
  • BlueScot
    BlueScot Posts: 68
    Just back from the event and echo everything that's gone before. Very friendly people with locals standing outside their doors cheering us on at 7am in the morning! I listened to Clare FM radio on the way home next morning and there were a few dissenting voices, but hopefully that can be ironed out for next year.
    I thought the start was much better organised than the Caledonia this year, and there was a better buzz about the place at the end. Believe it or not, the feedstations at the Hibernia were better than those on the Caledonia run. (I actually saw a few bars still available at the later stations.) But, overall, IMG really need to sort out the feedstations for these events - they are really poor. I know I am paying for the closed roads and the marshalling, but we deserve a little more for our money.
    I was enjoying my morning until we left the Burren and headed to the sea. The wind made life difficult, as did all those rolling hills - definitely tougher than expected. As someone has said, there were few potholes but the road surface was really tough. It could have been worse though - the drive home took me in the direction of Gort and Loughrea, and their road surfaces are a real mess!
    With a round trip of 600 miles, I'm not sure if I'd do the drive to do the course again, but would recommend the ride (and the area) if it's easier for you to get to.
  • autobahn
    autobahn Posts: 114
    I found the event really enjoyable, the weather made such a difference, it would of been a big grind if it rained all day.
    The people of Clare where super, and in some of the villages going through with the barriers up and all the people cheering it was a great experience.
    With regards to the toughness of the route, I am a club cyclist and 3 of us completed the course. We didnt intend to race it but treat the weekend as a social occasion , ride the course , enjoy the scenery and talk to follow cyclists on the way round
    Prior to doing it having looked at the route we all expected it to be easy, as Ive done those kind of distances and terrain on a reasonably regular basis.
    It was not easy and certainly not the breeze I expected!! It was tough but enjoyable.
    I reckon if I rode that course quite hard, I would be still feeling it.
    I would certainly recommend it and hope to be back

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